Howard, US and WMD

My thanks to The Age for reminding us of the quote from Prime Minister John Howard in 1996 after the terrible Port Arthur massacre: "I am determined that large numbers of weapons of mass destruction will be taken out of circulation and that Australia will be a safer place. It's time to bite the bullet and take a stand so Australia does not go down the path of the US with its gun culture." (The Age, 28/4/05)

Inappropriate cliches aside, how refreshing to hear a PM wary of blindly following US folly. Not to mention a PM successfully finding and removing WMDs! What the hell happened? Clearly, his inexperience in foreign affairs was showing. Now, after ten years in the job, the Man of Steel has given us Iraq, the "Free" Trade Agreement and no Kyoto. It's time for some less experienced leadership.